Monday, September 15, 2014

Destiny is one of the most ambitious games in recent memory. The game itself is a first-person shooter (FPS) and also a massive multiplayer online (MMO) game with role-playing game (RPG) elements. Acronyms aside the game is one of the first of its kind to come to consoles. MMOs have traditionally been a PC only venture but developer Bungie is looking to expand that market to more gamers across the globe.

When you first boot up Destiny and jump into playing, the game feels familiar. It plays like almost every other FPS you've ever come across in the past. You have a tutorial (this time in the form of Peter Dinklage's "Ghost" leading you through) that familiarizes you with all the basic mechanics of your character. You learn to run, jump,. crouch, shoot, etc... and you are entirely on your own. It isn't until you complete the first mission that you see the MMO elements come into play. At the central hub of the game, known as The Tower, players can interact with other gamers in a living game world, allowing you to join up and go on missions together or jump into the PvP (MMO slang for multiplayer) matchmaking system.

Should you decide to play the game solo you will probably think that Destiny is just like every other FPS on the market. However, Executive Producer of the game Patrick O'Kelley believes that the game doesn't truly open up until the player reaches their character's level cap of 20. Once this occurs, O'Kelley says players will begin to experience the endgame missions and objectives that really transform Destiny and set it apart.

"I think what players will find is that the game unfolds and transforms over time," O'Kelley reported to Xbox Wire in a recent interview. "In the first hour, it might feel like a familiar shooter. Then, players will start to see other players in the world. They will undertake cooperative and competitive activities without really worrying about it. Or they might keep on a solo journey but partake in public events. Eventually, they'll go to the Tower and learn some of the mechanics to improve their character. They'll make decisions about character customization and ability customization."

O'Kelley bills the game as an evolving experience and a game that requires you to invest a fair amount of time into to really sink in. In addition to that, O'Kelley also promises that gamers who take the time to really explore the game and build their characters will be rewarded with a sense of community and progression.

"Twenty hours in, I think that players will find that they've evolved to playing a whole different kind of game than the shooter that started them off," O'Kelley adds. "They'll find that they're immersed in a different world, and are deep into the history of their characters. They'll have built a community of other players. And without realizing it, they'll have learned some sophisticated mechanics that enable them to gear up and dive into a six-player cooperative raid, in pursuit of high-level exotic weapons and armor."

Destiny is definitely an ambitious game and one that is a staple for the newest generation of gaming consoles. A genre that was restricted to PC gamers has now been opened up and let loose on the console gaming community so it is natural to see some people have some reservations. However, should Bungie keep up with the game and keep the content coming in fresh and exciting then we may just be seeing the future of console gaming with Destiny.